Damsels & Break-Ins
by simply-aly
Summary: Seth & Richie are leaving the scene of a crime when Seth spots a young woman. [Enchanted AU] [Seth/Kate]


There are times to rescue apparent damsels in distress, but in the middle of the night, in a downpour, during a bank robbery is not one of them.

Richie was tossing the bag with the money they'd stolen into the back of their getaway car as Seth looked around, checking one last time for any cameras or witnesses they'd have to deal with when he sees her.

She's wearing what appears to be a wedding dress, although at this point it no longer seems fit for a wedding. The torrential rain and mud has certainly done a number on the dress. She seems both upset and, Seth squints and tilts his head a little in confusion…lost? Did she forget which church she was getting married in?

His finger twitches as it touches the trigger of the gun in his hand. No witnesses. That was the directive, and yet…there's no fucking way he's taking out a bride in a rain-soaked wedding dress. That's just too fucked, even for him. Seth thanks the Lord, or whatever damn deity gave Carlos other 'business to take care of' which kept him from tagging along this time.

It's at that very moment that she glances in his direction. It takes her a moment to register his presence, but her eyes take in his appearance and the weapon in his hand and she lets out a shrill scream, but freezes in her tracks.

He doesn't have to glance back at Richie to know that Richie's got his gun pointed at the girl now, so without taking his eyes off the girl, he says lowly to his brother, "Put the damn gun down and start the fucking car, now, Richie."

Without even checking to see if his brother's following directions, Seth throws his gun into the open passenger seat. He puts his hands up as if to convey that the girl has nothing to fear, but the look in her eyes doesn't diminish. He can't really blame her, he supposes.

Then it hits him. He's still wearing the mask. Well, he's not compromising this job even more than he already has. She'll just have to be afraid for a while longer, he decides as he lunges for her.

She tries to run, but he's quicker. The heavy rain soaked wedding dress and fancy heels makes fleeing impossible anyway, and it doesn't take much effort to shove her in the backseat and get in the car, ignoring her confused screams of protest.

"Shit, Seth," Richie curses as he steps on the gas. "We can't just go around abducting brides from their weddings!" Away from the scene of the crime they both pull off their masks at the same time.

"Well, we certainly can't be _killing_ them, either!" Seth retorts as he throws the mask to the floor, his eyes looking into the rearview mirror in time to watch the girl's eyes widen. To his brother, he adds, "Thought this was the better option."

The girl, panicked though she may be, doesn't plead for her life, instead, all she says is, "I'm not-I'm…that is—I'm not getting married."

Seth raises an eyebrow. "You're in a wedding dress, sweetheart," he drawls.

Her eyes narrow. "I know that. What I mean is that I _was_ getting married, but not anymore."

"Runaway bride?" Richie pipes up.

The girl huffs. "Well, when your husband-to-be tries to kill you during the ceremony, you don't generally feel like going through with it."

"Well, where were you running off to?" Richie asks again, in Seth's opinion, ignoring the much more pertinent details.

"I was trying to go home, but I fell and somehow I ended up in this strange place, and I don't know how to get back home again."

"Where's home, sweetheart?" Seth asks. She seems to be calming down a bit. The conversation has nicely moved away from the killing her part to something decidedly more palatable.

"Andalasia," she says, looking straight at Seth. She tilts her head a little and narrows her eyes. "Do you know how to get there? Can you take me home?" Her hands are nervously smoothing out the extravagant but now ruined wedding gown.

She seems so hopeful, but they certainly can't risk this job going any further south than it already has. Seth almost feels bad about the words that come out of his mouth next. "Sorry, sweetheart, but you won't be able to go home for awhile."

She looks genuinely confused as she tries to puzzle out his words. "Well, why not? Can you not use this… _thing_ to get me there?" She gestures to space she's occupying, and Seth assumes she means the car.

He honestly isn't sure if she truly has no idea what she came upon when she saw them, or if this act is just to make them think she doesn't, but he can't afford the risk.

"We don't know how to get to this…Andalasia…at the moment, so you're gonna have to stay with us for a little while until we figure out what to do." It's true enough, Seth supposes.

She looks contemplative for a second, then glances out the window. "I suppose I can stay with you until you can figure out how to get me home." Her eyes narrow again. "You do promise to help me get home, though, right?"

Clever girl, Seth thinks. He quickly meets Richie's eyes before nodding. He doesn't know if he's telling the truth or a lie, but he says the words anyway. "Yeah, sure, I promise."

The girl smiles excitedly. "Oh, this will be wonderful. I'm Kate, by the way."

"Richie," Richie pipes up while driving through the city, "and this is my brother, Seth."


End file.
